The Yahoo sign in Times Square is seen in this file photo in New York. / DON EMMERT AFP/Getty Images

by Jon Swartz and Nancy Blair, USA TODAY

by Jon Swartz and Nancy Blair, USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO â?? When Marissa Mayer took the top job at long-suffering Internet giant Yahoo nearly a year ago, most wondered why.

Now, with its apparent $1 billion purchase of Tumblr, the latest of several savvy acquisitions, Mayer has put the yippee back into Yahoo. And investors are loving it.

The company, which has languished in the shadow of Google and Facebook in the Internet pecking order, is relevant once again in Silicon Valley.

Mayer said as much in a brief chat with USA TODAY on Friday night. Yahoo is accumulating "delightful" technology and world class talent, she said, to make it an essential destination for consumers â?? particularly those who are younger.

"Yahoo should not be about me, but the value it brings to people's lives," said Mayer, who has shied away from media interviews to concentrate on turning around the Internet icon.

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo's board of directors approved a $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr, an image-intensive blog platform popular among a younger audience. The report, citing "people familiar with the matter," said Yahoo would pay cash for the company.

Yahoo has declined to comment on the media reports. But it has a press event scheduled for Monday in New York, where Tumblr is based.

Among other major deals in its history: GeoCities in 1999, for which it paid more than $4 billion. In 2003, the company purchased search advertising firm Overture for $1.63 billion.

In Tumblr, Yahoo picks up the type of cool technology that people once associated with Yahoo, says technology analyst Kevin Lee.

It's the latest â?? and largest, by far â?? in a string of recent acquisitions.

Until now, Yahoo's deals have been mostly with smaller startups. In March, it announced it was scooping up social recommendation site Jybe and mobile news reader Summly.

Among its most recent announcements, mobile games developer Loki Studios this month said it would be coming into the Yahoo fold. Yahoo also picked up Astrid, a to-do list and reminder app for iOS and Android.

Among Yahoo's other recent moves:

â?¢Updated apps. The company launched Yahoo Mail for iPad and Android tablets, along with a new weather app for iPhones. The mail app for tablets offers a more visual, Flipboard-like take on email. The weather app pairs up Flickr photos of cities you select to monitor. Yahoo says it's like flipping through a stack of postcards to see the weather.

â?¢Content. Starting Sept. 1, Yahoo will become the online home for Saturday Night Live clips. The archives from its beginning in 1975 through the current season will be available exclusively on Yahoo.

Yahoo still has the daunting task of competing for mobile ad dollars with Google and Facebook, both of whom have large, loyal customer bases.

In April, the company reported a solid financial quarter: Profit jumped 36% to $390.9 million on revenue of $1.07 billion that was mostly flat. It was the first full quarter of results since Mayer began to implement her plan to improve revenue growth, operating income and cash flow.

Yahoo's stock price has risen 69% under Mayer's leadership. The company's shares fell 6 cents Friday to close at $26.52.